Torchwood Four: Through the Rift
by queenfluffernutter
Summary: This is a re-write of the Episode Captain Jack Harkness that explains how one of the members got to Torchwood Four.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes/Disclaimer:** I, of course, did not create these characters, nor most of the dialogue and actions contained here. I had to watch it over and over to get it right - (oh, the agony! LOL) - so! Anyway - this is the follow up to the Torchwood Four story I wrote. Now we get to the meat of the how and why. Enjoy and rate! (PS - I wish I had thought of this - but I did think of the way to tie it in really good - I think...)

Jack pushed open the door to the long-long forgotten building. The site that greeted him and Toshiko was one they had encountered before- typical abandoned dance-hall turned dance club. Posters and graffiti covered what were once elegantly painted walls. Jack also took stock of the plastic covered furniture.

"The Ritz Dancehall. It's been derelict since 1989 but someone's complained about hearing music…" Tosh brought Jack up to date on the situation.

Jack started up the stairs, but stopped, thinking he heard something.

"…music from the 1940's."

Jack shushed her, looking up the stairs and tilting his head slightly, sure he had heard something, then deciding that they needed to investigate further. "You coming up?"

Not waiting for Toshiko, he started up the stairs. He could hear the sound of her heels behind him. _Good ole Tosh, always one to follow the leader._

Jack flung the door at the top of the stairs open. "Wow! Look at the chandelier. No neon lights back then."

Toshiko was then swept into the arms of the man that she knew as boss. He did a few graceful turns with her as he finished his soliloquy. "Just dashing young soldiers and pretty young ladies. And as they danced, the girls would look playfully into their partners' eyes, smile softly, and say…"

Tosh stumbled on one last turn. "Jack, mind my laptop," she scolded.

Chuckling, Jack extended his arms and replied, "I was thinking more along the lines of – How long before you head off to war?"

Tosh smiled up at him as he placed a hand on her back to guide her down the stairs. She was fiddling with one of favorite devices – one that measured time and dimension, Jack figured. Not wanting her to fall down the stairs as she did so, he guided her ever-so-gently. The next landing down was more of the same to be seen.

"Come on. There's nothing here but memories and dust." Jack stood, waiting for Toshiko to finish punching buttons.

It was then that he heard the music. _No way. I haven't heard that tune in so long. I don't know any modern band that plays it so well. Not here in Cardiff, at least…and the laughing – there is no way _that_ can be a recording!_

Jack was sure his ears were playing tricks on him. Wouldn't have been the first time. Then he noticed Tosh had stopped punching buttons and was looking up the stairs as well. With a quick knowing glance, they headed up the stairs together.

What they saw at the top was such a sight that Jack almost dropped to his knees and cried.

The entire top floor looked as though someone was throwing a party. There were groups of people standing around talking while others danced to the band they had first heard on the stairs.

Toshiko broke the silence. "They look so real."

Jack looked up from his wristband, which he was fiddling with out of habit and answered, his eyes wandering around the room. "They're not ghosts. It's a simple temporal shift." His eye caught one particular woman – a woman with dark hair who was wearing a red dress. A woman so like one from his past that he was forced to laugh out loud as he watched her cross to talk to a handsome man in uniform at a nearby table. "And it's beautiful!"

Tosh was suddenly scared and pulled at Jack's coat. "We should get out."

Jack nodded slowly and followed as Tosh turned back to the stairs. On their way down, Jack saw the same woman in the red dress, this time her arm was linked with a different man in uniform. He watched them as they went past, still haunted by the thought that he should know her. Had he been here before? No, he was sure of that. _Her_ he would have remembered – he was dead sure of that.

Toshiko was now outside, having pushed past the man that was holding the door open for her. "Do call again," he said after them.

Jack turned back with a longing look and answered, "I would love to…"

The man closed the door after them, smiling an odd smile.

Jack looked at his vortex manipulator before looking back up at the sky. They had not noticed it was nighttime until this very moment. Toshiko was looking around bewildered for the vehicle they had driven there.

"Where's the SUV? Has it been stolen?"

Jack had his back to Toshiko when he noticed the poster announcing the dance. A dance for the troops. A dance for the troops here. Here in 1941. His throat was suddenly dry and his arm was poised in mid-air as he forced the answer out. "No, we have."

Tosh tried her cell phone in vain as the words were leaving his mouth. There was no way in the world that she wanted to be stuck here – even if it _was_ with Captain Jack Harkness. She had things she was planning on doing, and none of them revolved around being stuck in 1941.

"It's no use," she sighed at last. "It's dead. I can't get through to the Hub."

Jack found himself wanting the Doctor once again. One use of his Sonic Screwdriver and all that would be fixed. Not to mention that he could get them back to their own time – or at least give it a good shot. "Let's go back inside. That's where we were when we crossed."

The two walked back in, an action that did not go unnoticed by the strange old man trying desperately to blend in with the crowd but failing miserably. They walked to a nearby marble pillar to observe the room.

"We really are in 1941. What if we can't get back?" Tosh sounded more than a little worried.

"Flotsam and jetsam slips through all the time. We'll get back." There was that woman again. Why was she so appealing to Jack? He watched her move through the crowd again, the same soldier as before linked arm-in-arm with her. There was something hauntingly familiar to him, and he had to tear his eyes away from her to continue. "Look on the bright side. Gives you one hell of an excuse not to go to your party." His eye caught her again.

Tosh realized he was looking at the woman and became angry. Why did he always have to be looking for his next conquest? She snapped him back to reality. "I have a life there! And they can't help us because I have the latest readings in here." She patted her ever-present laptop bag. "People are staring at us…"

"We need to try to blend in," Jack suggested, pulling his com from his ear and placing it in his pocket before helping Tosh take her jacket off.

She was feeling a little better until she took a good look around. "It's easy for you to say. I'm the only Asian here."

Jack looped her coat over his arm and an arm around her waist. "Don't worry. You're with the Captain."


	2. Chapter 2

Toshiko sighed, knowing that should be reassuring, but on this occasion, didn't feel like it so much

Toshiko sighed, knowing that that fact should be reassuring, but on this occasion, didn't feel like it so much. She let herself be led to the bar by Jack. Maybe something to take the edge off was just what she needed.

In the background, the band was playing Melancholy Baby and the woman singing, Tosh was forced to admit, was quite nice to hear. She had seen Jack eyeing her already, and wondered if there was really anyone who _didn't_ catch his eye.

She heard Jack ordering a water and brandy, even as someone was talking to her. He looked dapper in his uniform – perfectly polished.

"I haven't seen you in here before."

The bartender set the drinks on the counter and turned to Jack, bar rag still in hand, "Three and six, please sir."

Jack patted his pockets as if searching for his wallet before turning, panicked, to Tosh. "Uh…I…" he managed to stammer before the soldier stepped in.

"I'll get 'em." He pulled the bills from his own pocket.

Jack was trying to thank him, but the man's eyes never moved from Tosh. "One on condition."

"What?" Jack asked – the other man's eyes flicked over for the first time to acknowledge him, then, without warning, yanked Tosh onto the dance floor. She was shocked, but adapted incredibly fast, causing Jack to stand back and laugh. From somewhere nearby, a woman made a rude remark, causing Jack to shoot an unpleasing look in her direction. Now, if ever there was one, was the time for Jack to rescue his colleague, his friend. He walked to where they were dancing and attempted to cut in. "Do you mind?"

The man Tosh was dancing with became defensive and turned to Jack face-on. "I'm only borrowing her, mate."

Jack set his feet for a fight. "Maybe she doesn't want to be borrowed."

The soldier moved closer. "You want to make something of it?"

Jack gave him a wry smile and made a suggestion, "You can always dance with me if you like."

That was all the other man needed to hear. He used both hands to propel Jack backward with surprising strength. Jack had not expected him to be so aggressive and easily lost his footing. Jack hated to lose his footing.

With a small chuckle, Jack advanced. "Okay. I'll lead; you follow." Suddenly, his hands were on the boy he once thought a man. When he caused him to stumble back, he briefly turned. "Come on, Tosh."

That one break in contact was what the soldier was waiting on and he used it to his advantage. He managed to spin Jack around and catch him in the jaw with a well-aimed punch. Jack went into autopilot and came back at the boy with all his anger, pushing him backwards like an angry third-grader at the playground.

Tosh was on him, reminding him, "Jack. Jack, we're meant to be blending in…"

The boy, still reeling from Jack's reaction, scrambled to his feet. Another man in a uniform stepped between them and spoke to the boy. "Cut it out, kiddo."

He turned to face Jack after setting the boy straight. "Sorry about that. The men are a bit lively tonight. It's the last day of OTI tomorrow."

Jack found himself searching this man's face. Something about it was familiar. Jack started to wonder if someone had retconned him and done a bad job of it. _Had_ he been here before?

The man turned back to the boy. "Apologize to the gentleman, George."

The boy, now identified as George, was humbled. "I was only dancing."

"I think it was your fist in his face he didn't like, not your foxtrot."

"I'm sorry," George offered.

Jack found it hard to look at the man who had broken the fight up. "It's okay. You barely got me."

There was a collective sigh as all seemed to be well again.

George then apologized to Tosh, who accepted and then headed off for a drink with a couple of friends.

The man who stopped Jack from pulverizing someone in the name of Toshiko's honor turned and walked over to Jack.

"Hey, are you a volunteer too?" His tone was warm and friendly as he offered a hand.

"Yeah," Jack managed. He was sure he knew this face from somewhere, but couldn't quite place it.

They joined hands in a shake and both began to talk at once. "I'm Captain…"

Both stopped to laugh, still holding hands tightly.

Jack spoke. "You go first."

The other man puffed up proudly, "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, 133rd Squadron."

Jack's face froze. His heart began to beat faster. There was no way. No way in the whole of Earth that this could be the man whose name he had taken so long ago. He could see Tosh out of the corner of his eye, every bit as shocked as he was.

Suddenly, there was a voice instructing them to look their way and a bright light. Someone had taken their picture.


	3. Chapter 3

There is another flash, this time with the old man who had held the door open for them in the middle

There was another flash, this time with the old man who had held the door open for them in the middle. Jack was confused, but turned to the camera anyway. As soon as the pictures were taken, Jack moved to get going. First the woman, and now this. He needed to be back in the Hub. "I should be heading off…"

The other Jack Harkness, who Jack liked to think of as Captain Jack, looked crestfallen. "But I didn't catch your names."

_Think fast, Jack, this is important._ Tosh was quicker and let her name fall out. "Toshiko Sato."

_Must remember to get her a raise after this…_"I'm Captain James Harper. 71st."

Captain Jack was visibly impressed. "71st? That's where I am hoping to be posted next. What's your poison?"

He started for the bar, but Jack stopped him. "Maybe later. My friend and I were in the middle of something."

With something akin to regret, Captain Jack walked away. "Sure."

He was scarcely out of earshot when Tosh, who was close on Jack's heels, began asking questions. "Why does that man have your name?"

Jack stared straight ahead. There had to be a reason for this. In all his years of travel with the Doctor, the one thing he learned was that everything happened for a reason. There were no such thing as accidents. Something (or someone) had brought him to this precise point in time for a damn good reason, and he intended to find out why.

"I'm lost enough here without you holding back on me!" The tone of her voice was not like the Tosh he knew back at the Hub. There was a renewed energy that made her seem almost dangerous.

He stopped then and turned slowly. Best to tell her the truth – some of it at any rate. "It's not my name. It's his. I took his. But – I didn't realize he was…so hot!" He laughed to himself a bit, knowing it would get a response.

"Jack!" Tosh scolded like she was his mother. Like someone else who was just playing on the edge of his memory, trying to come through.

He shook it all from his mind. "I know too much."

"Then, share."

His face suddenly went more serious than she had ever seen him. "You wouldn't want that. Trust me."

Toshiko was left to stare at her boss. She was at a loss for words. How could he keep so much to himself?

"We have to get back," Jack reminded her. "What's in here?"

Tosh realized he was pointing at her laptop and answered. "I've got half the equation in here. The other half is back at the Hub. If I can find some way of getting these figures back to base, then they can combine them, open the rift and bring us back through."

Deciding that was the best idea yet, Jack took her hand and led her down the hall. "Come on."

Jack spotted a room that looked empty and ushered Tosh inside. He looked around as Tosh hurried to scribble down the rest of the equation. The caretaker and owner of the office startled them just as she finished. After a few exchanged pleasantries, they left his office, Tosh feeling a little more than creeped out by the man.

The couple went down the stairs, Toshiko stopping Jack at the first landing to talk to him. "Pearl Harbor, Jack…"

He could barely hear her as he watched Captain Jack just a few feet away, smoking a cigarette. He resisted the urge to span the space between them and slap it away from him. He wasn't sure where that was coming from and it bothered him to no end. "Doesn't happen to the end of the year."

He was flustering Toshiko. "Granddad stayed in London, but he was persecuted. If I stay stuck here, what will happen to me?"

What was it about this man that was holding Jack so rapt? It was more than a sexual attraction – there was something else there, something in the pit of his stomach, and memory that he felt he should be able to pinpoint but still found just out of reach. He tore his eyes away to answer her in barely a whisper, "I'll take care of you."

It was a promise he made easily. A promise he would not ever break again. He had gotten her into this situation and he would damn sure be the one to make the best of it for her. If he could just remember where he had seen the man's face. If he could figure out why he felt he needed to talk to him so badly. He was still watching from above as Tosh changed the mood.

"This period, you look like you fit in. Have you been here before?" Such an innocent question, but so loaded at the same time.

How do you explain to someone that you want to tell everything to, yet keep everything from? Jack drew in a breath and began to speak before his senses caught up with him. "Yeah. I can't explain, but I served in the war in 1941." That was right! That must have been where he had seen the woman! "I was undercover. I needed a false identity, so I took…" Jack motioned with his chin to the man below, "his name."

Going out on a limb, Tosh asked, "Who were you before you took his name?" She watched Jack's face fall – as if he were lost in a memory. "Why him?"

Not moving his eyes, Jack answered her simply. "It was convenient."

Realizing what he has just said to her, she continued. "But if you chose his identity to steal then he…"

"Dies…" Jack's voice had more than a little pang of regret in it. It was one thing to take a man's name, but quite another to watch the man walk below you and know that he is going to be gone soon and knowing you can do nothing to change that. "In battle."

"When?" She didn't really want to know, but she had to ask, for Jack's sake.

"Tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

Jack and Tosh join the men at the bar

Jack and Tosh joined the men at the bar. Tosh knew she needed to find out some information and knew just how to get it.

"So," she started, "Who's the best navigator here?"

George, the young man they had met earlier is the one to answer. "Tim. He can't fly for toffee, but at least when he goes down, he'll know exactly where he is."

This elicited a chuckle from the other men. Tosh found it cruel and turned to the man he indicated. "Why don't we chat over here?" More of what the soldiers consider good natured ribbing followed as they took a nearby table.

"I'll give the public schoolboy a fortnight," George predicted with a raise of his glass.

Captain Jack corrected him. "That boy's come a long way in five weeks. As long as you boys remember your training, you'll be all right."

He turned to Jack and put a hand on his shoulder. "Glad you came. Shall we sit down?"

Jack let himself be led by the other man to said table. George followed, hoping to hear a great story or two between the Captains.

As they sat, George opened the conversation. "You must have seen some action."

Jack looked down at his drink before answering. "Let's just say the enemy comes in many guises."

Captain Jack was looking at him when he got the courage to look in his direction. George noticed nothing and continued. "Yeah, I can't wait to get up there and give Jerry what-for." He turned to the Captain. "How many did you kill in the Battle of Britain, sir? Twenty-six, wasn't it?"

He looked uncomfortable for a bit, shifting in his seat. "You've heard that story countless times, George."

George acted as if he had not heard and went on. "No one's as fast as him. Hasn't lost a man yet!"

The Captain changed the subject quickly, turning to Jack. "Care for a drink, Captain?"

Not wanting to say anything he might regret later, he made a choice. "I'll just have water, thanks."

"All right." The Captain went to the bar. Jack noticed that a beautiful blonde woman wearing a red coat went to talk to him. The man at the bar turned to him and he nodded in approval.

While the couple at the bar are talking, Jack noticed the woman he had seen earlier. She looked in his direction and sent him a nod of her own. He couldn't seen to get her face out of his mind – she was haunting him even as she walked by. He looked over at Tosh. She was still talking to the young soldier about coordinates – or something. They were hitting it off famously – but who didn't like Tosh?

He was still lost in a bit of a daydream when he heard a voice beside him. "Hey, this seat taken?"

Jack shook his head before looking up. Into the eyes of the woman he had been seeing all night. Her green eyes were so familiar that he had to hold back a gasp. His mind raced a thousand miles a minute trying to figure out why they were haunting him so.

"What's that about? I don't bite." She told him, setting her drink in front of her and looking at him hard.

"I was just…you…you look so familiar. I'm sorry – have we met before?" Jack felt his palms getting sweaty - a feeling he had not felt in some years now. Not since…Emily! His eyes snapped suddenly back to her.

"What?" she took a small sip from her glass. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"I think I am still seeing one, actually." His voice was quiet and he forced it to be louder. "What did you say your name was?"

"Andi McGary." The brunette stuck her hand out, expecting the man before her to take it.

But he just stared at her. There was no way. No way on this Earth that this was who she was saying she was. His brain tried to process everything that he was being told. Finally, he took her hand in both of his. "You're beautiful."

Andi blushed. "I'll bet you say that to all the women."

Jack found himself laughing. "Only the beautiful ones." Here she was. And now he knew why he knew her. Her hair, her eyes, even the way she walked – it was just the same.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" She suddenly felt like she was under a microscope.

"Andrea, do you recognize me?" He pulled himself closer to her to look in her eyes.

Andi blinked and searched her brain. She was sure she would remember if she had gone out with a man that looked like him. After all, he did kind of look like pictures she had seen of…NO! "You can't be!"

Jack let a smile spread across his face. "I think so."

"Wait a minute. I saw you talking to Jack just a bit ago."

"Yeah – that's weird. To talk to someone who has the same name. Is that your boyfriend?" He leaned back in his seat.

Andi bit her lip and slid her glass across the table. "Drink up, Pops."

"No, I'm fine…pops?" He arched an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah – meet your son – Jack Gregory Harkness…."


	5. Chapter 5

"You can't mean…" Jack grabbed the glass and, toasting Andi, drank it all in one gulp.

Andi laughed and Jack was instantly reminded of her mother. "It's all a bit much – but, well," Jack paused and folded his hands in front of him on the table. "How is Emily?"

Andi thought for a moment a reached across for the glass to play with the remaining drop of liquid that was left there. "She's good."

Jack felt she was holding something back. "Except?"

"Nothing. She's fine..er…Dad?" The word stuck in her throat.

"Fine like she got over it or fine like she is doing the best she can to stay together?" His heart broke at the thought of Emily being alone.

"It's been twenty-four years." Emily tried to break the news as easily as she could, but watched as his face fell. "She got remarried when Jack was a baby. Frank was good to us – treated us no different than he did Georgie."

"Georgie? Frank?" Jack's head spun and he remembered the little boy who had stood with his head buried in Emily's dress – the little boy he had retconned before the man who would later marry Emily had shown up to take him home. The memory of that day burned hot and fresh in Jack's memory and he pressed his palms to his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Andi stood and went to stand behind him.

He removed his hands and covered the ones that were now sitting on his shoulders. "No, I'm fine."

Andi rubbed his shoulders a bit and saw that one of her friends was calling to her. "I have to go for a bit – Ellie is calling me – she has our orders I think."

"Orders?" Jack craned to look up at her.

"Yeah – I volunteered to be a nurse when Jack signed up – have to keep tabs on my baby brother," she shrugged down at him.

Another pang of regret hit him. _I have to keep tabs on my baby brother…_

"Don't leave before I talk to you. Please," Jack pleaded, clasping her hands tighter.

"I promise," Andi bent to kiss him on the cheek before joining her friend.

Jack sat for a while before getting up and going to find Tosh. He found her, standing alone, seemingly looking him as well. He had so much he wanted to tell her about – how he had met his daughter – now a woman! And who Captain Jack really was, that is, if he could let himself believe it.

"I've got what I need. Now all I have to do is find a way to leave a message for the team on something that will last across time," Tosh spoke quickly, quelling any words Jack had ready.

"Okay." Jack's answer was miles away as he thought of his children growing up without him. He turned from Toshiko and started to walk away, hoping that she would follow. But Tosh was blocked.

The woman in front of her put her hands on her hips, "I haven't seen you two here before. Is she with you?" She motioned to Jack as she spoke. There were a few more words that passed between the people standing around before the woman, who was now identified as Audrey, snatched Tosh's laptop bag from her, demanding that she open it.

From behind the group, Jack stepped forward and spoke. "She can't. Her work is top secret. She's a decoder for the Brits."

The Captain heard and stepped in front, handing Jack his drink, looking at him in a way that made Jack think that Andi had said something to him. "Without ladies like her, we'd have no way of defending the country – To Toshiko!"

"Toshiko!" Jack mimics, noticing how much like him the man is. _My son – the one that lived. The one that a mere few hours from now will also be lost to me – forever. And there is nothing I can do about it._

His thoughts are interrupted by Tosh's voice in his ear. "I need Bilis's camera. Photographs last, don't they?"

He thought for a moment longer before he answered. "Sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Toshiko nodded and started to lead him from the room, but was stopped by the younger Captain Jack. "Oh, you can't run out on me. I've just got you a drink."

He smiled weakly at the man and watched as Tosh left.

"To a fellow captain…" They clinked their glasses together before drinking. Jack suddenly go the urge to tell the other man to put the glass down, that he had something important he needed to tell him, but he could not. Instead – "So, what brings you down here?"

They started up the stairs and he got his answer. "Well, I had to rest up. Injured my back bailing over Kent."

A soft feminine voice came up behind them playfully, "So that's his excuse for not dancing…mind if I join you?"

Jack turned around, smirking, "Sure."

The other Jack, whom Jack was now thinking of as Junior with a bit of a smirk, sighed a little and replied. "Why not?"

It was if the other man felt that Jack needed to talk to him and he needed to talk to Jack as badly, if not more so. Both men put a hand on her back as they went up the stairs together.


	6. Chapter 6

They were all sitting around the table with their drinks. Nancy, as "Junior" had introduced her, looked quite bored at the conversation the men were having. The music came to an end and everyone applauded, almost covering the conversation they were having.

"So, what's your next mission?" Junior asked him.

Jack wanted to tell him right there – tell him that he knew everything – tell him that he even knew what was going to happen to him. He wanted to ask him if knew he had an older brother. If he knew he had an older brother that Jack had been powerless to stop from dying. Just like he was this time. But he didn't. "Careless talk costs lives." He spoke into his drink.

Nancy welcomed the out, "I should go anyway." She stood, the men standing with her.

Jack recanted what he had said, "No, I didn't mean that to…"

She turned to him, "It's all right. I can get a lift if I leave now."

Jack sat back down, but Junior remained standing. "I'd better stay here."

She turned her back to the man at the table, "Aren't you leaving tomorrow night?"

The man she was looking at nodded in affirmation. Jack was sure he saw a very familiar look in his eyes.

Her face fell obviously. "You sick of us Welsh already?"

He chuckled a little before replying, "Yeah, that's why I'm still fighting for you." They looked over at Jack, who had to admit he felt a little uncomfortable – a little like a – gasp! – father watching his son end a date…The Captain kissed her on the cheek, "I'll be in touch when I'm next on leave."

Nancy's shoulders fell and she left. Jack nodded as he watched them, thinking the whole time that, while he wanted to talk to his son, he would rather know that this man who had his name had lived his life to the fullest. As if he could read his mind, Junior turned back to her.

"Nancy…"

She turned to look at him hopefully.

"It's been a good few weeks."

Nancy left without another word. The Captain sat down.

Jack was quietly livid. "Was that it?!" He looked after the spot where she had been, wondering what that was about.

Junior shrugged at the man sitting there, "She's a sweet kid, but I need to look after my men tonight. It's their last day tomorrow." He took another drink. Jack looked at him like he was crazy.

"Go after her. Kiss her goodbye. Anything can happen tomorrow." He became more intense, leaning in as he spoke roughly to the other man. _He just doesn't get it, does he?_

He sighed back at Jack. "It's just a routine training exercise. I'm hardly going to die."

In that moment, Jack never felt more like a father. He wished the man would just listen to him. He leaned in to tell him what he thought he needed to hear. "That's when they catch you, when you least expect it. You don't know what's ahead. Kiss her…" he hesitated for a brief moment before whispering the rest. "…goodbye."

Junior finished his drink and went after Nancy. He found her in the doorway. "Nancy." This was followed by a quick kiss as he helped her put her coat on.

Jack closed his eyes, thinking about the night he had left Emily. How hard it had been for him. And he hadn't gotten to give her one more kiss, no chance to tell her how much he loved her. He had written a note and packed light. Taken the coward's way. He didn't want to see his namesake do the same.

She turned around to hug him and stood on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, "I love you." She looked at him for his reaction before leaving, placing her hand on his face as a final goodbye.

He walked back to the table, where Jack is sitting, waiting for him. He was still thinking of the way Emily had looked the last time he had seen her, belly swollen with the very man that was standing in front of him. "That just made things twenty times worse. Now she thinks she's in love with me!" Grabbing his hat, he stalked away.

Jack was suddenly torn between laughter and tears. Here was his son, getting mad at him and stomping away. Just like Jack should have seen him do as a teenager. Lost in thought for a moment, he decided to follow him down the stairs. He was suddenly angry that this man would lay all the blame at his feet.

"Hey! Her falling for you is hardly my fault. Play it cool in front of your men, but not in front of me." _Your father…_Jack paused for a beat. "It's okay to be scared." He wasn't sure whom he was talking to more.

The Captain hurumphed and kept decending, "A captain has to keep his head."

"A captain needs to explain risks – tell his men what to expect." Jack was tired of all of this – he wanted to tell the other man so badly what his fate was – the thought of losing another son was tearing him up inside.

He spun on the man he did not know was his father. "So what do I do? Tell 'em I saw a young boy get shot in the eyes mid-flight?!"

The reply was soft. "I understand."

He faced him, challenging him, sizing him up. "Do you? Did you hear him on the radio, yelling for his mom, while the Messerschmitts pumped him full of holes and blew his plane apart? All I can hear on the radio ..."

Jack cut him off, truly tired of the martyr act – a Harkness should **never** act like that. He was more mad at himself in that very moment than he ever had been. He should have been there, not Frank! "-- is screams. I went to war when I was a boy. I was with my best friend. We got caught crossing the border over enemy lines. They tortured him – but not me - because he was weaker. They made me watch him die." He realized for the first time that he had to look up to look into the other man's eyes. "And they let me go."

That got the other man's attention. "Who were they?"

Jack thought for a moment before telling him everything. "The worst possible creatures you can imagine." It was Jack's turn to walk away. This time, he was the one being followed.

For a moment, Jack was lost in memory. " I persuaded him to join up. I said it would be an adventure. He hadn't lived…"

"Have any of us?" The other man asked, continuing down the stairs, alone. Jack was quick on his heels.

He caught his elbow. "I need to talk to you. Now."


End file.
